India-Nepal ties have witnessed a lot of ups and downs in the last two years starting with confrontation over Nepal’s Constitution and then going all the way to the imposition of a blockade by India (“Rebooting India-Nepal ties”, August 22). All this could have been prevented had our political establishment shown some resilience and maturity. It is here that we remember the I.K. Gujral doctrine, which put emphasis on mutual respect and mutual non-interference with our neighbours. We have to remember that being geographically and economically the strongest nation in the subcontinent, the onus of some maturity when it comes to dealing with our neighbours rests with us. There is need for a strategic and peaceful relationship with the rest of the neighbourhood if we want to grow economically and address our security concerns.
Karan Choudhary,
Pathankot, Punjab
